Literacy Balance in a Kindergarten Class.

 Hello everyone, today I want to share with you my opinion about an interesting article that talks about how to connect the literary components in a balanced way in a class.

After analyzing this and other articles related to the subject I have come to the conclusion that these literary components are a fundamental part of the student's early learning.

We begin by analyzing the shared writing, as a teacher I have the opportunity to learn from my students, for example If I read a story aloud, once we finish, together we analyze everything related to the story we read, by asking different questions and helping them to come to the essential analysis of the story. Some of the questions are: where did the story take place? Who are the characters in the story? What happened at the beginning of the story? What happened after? What happens at the end of the story? And so I lead them to recreate the story in their own words. At the same time they write orally their own opinion about it. This way I am connecting 2 important literary components reading aloud and shared writing.

When we finish doing this analysis then students are already prepared to extend the story and give it a different ending connecting it with their own real life. In my case I really like to use the question ‘What would you do if you were the main character in the story?’ This simple question helps me to know more in depth how my students think and what their dreams are and at the same time it is very fun and trained for them.

Other components we can use and connect are Writing Workshops and Reading Workshops.

In my kindergarten class 3 times a week, I divide my class into 5 groups.

# 1 they go on the pc and their task is to draw something that starts with the letter of the week and write a sentence about it.

 # 2 read a story together, analyze it and in the end draw their favorite part and write a sentence about what they drew using the words learned.

# 3 make a mini-book with the letter of the week and write three sentences using the learned high frequency words.

# 4 they have to write in their workbook a sentence using the amazing words learned and draw a picture about it.

# 5 shared books on the topic of the week on the carpet and discusses what happened in the story.

I go through all the groups working one by one with the students

And giving them differentiated attention, this way I find out where the difficulties of each of my students are, so that I can plan activities that help them to advance and learn every day.

It is very important to show in class all the materials necessary for the child at the time of writing, for example the list of amazing words, the high frequency words, the website of the letter of the week with drawings, I provide all the information required So they can work independently.

Finally, also, daily implement Interactive Writing and share reading.

Every morning in the morning meeting when we talk about the letter of the week 

I write on the blackboard part of the word and I ask them to read the word together so they realize what sound is missing, I ask a child to come and write the letter of that missing sound and so I do until the word is complete. Also I put in Pearson the video of the history of the week where one of the activities is to read the mini book I give them time to read a part of the book each one, to finish, this activity is also very fun and functional for them.

Literacy Autobiography

Literacy Autobiography

Teacher: Dr. Michelle Rosen

How did I learn to read? Where?           

            I've been surrounded by books my whole life, due to the fact that my mother was a teacher; she filled our home with all kinds of authors. I read many different genres. My mother always said "the best way to grow is through books". To this day, I hold that phrase dear to my heart and even encourage my children as well as my students to expand their minds and vocabulary through books. At the age of 3, I had made up my mind about what I believed to be my favorite books; "Fairy Tales" and "Pimpon" the first one had countless stories of princes and princesses, charming castles and wicked step mothers, classics; the second book was a compilation of different songs from classic lullabies, they were in Spanish, since growing up that was my first language. I have vague memories of my mother and I every Sunday, we would take a seat in the living room with a book in hand, usually that would mean my aforementioned "fairy tales" and although I was only 3 years old and wasn’t capable of reading it, I was interested in the pretty dresses illustrated in the picture. I remember there was a princess with books on her head trying to balance them and walk at the same time, and that was what I imagined was the story of that princess.

            Undoubtedly that came to be the time I looked forward to and enjoyed out of the day. Due to my undeniable love for books, when I turned 4, my mother gifted me what would soon become the very first book I learned to read on my own; it was quite an easy book, minimal wording and lots of pictures, however it was very exciting for me to decipher what before were only drawings on the pages of the book or simply the stories in my mother's voice that I would listen to every night before going to bed. Today I realize that thanks to that time that my mother dedicated to letting me pick books and reading them to me in spite of her busy schedule, little by little she made me fall in love all of those happy endings and with time I wanted to discover my own.

            1978 was an exceptional year for me, I began my first day of school with an unquenchable desire to learn new things and read new stories. Until then the only teacher I had ever had was my mother, who with all her love and patience had planted the seed for what became my incredible love for books. Soon I learned how to identify a vast variety of words and that made me quite happy because somehow I felt independent, last areas of the school were for me as the tasks that my mother had at home. Since she was a single mother trying to raise two kids, I always view it as my job to succeed at school and made her proud. I figured she had so much to worry about with providing for us kids that my school needed to be the least of her worries; it stayed that way until I earned my degree. I consider myself very fortunate to have had such great and influential educators growing up. All through elementary as well as middle school, I was blessed with incredible teachers. They were loving and very encouraging. Meeting these exceptional individuals is what drove me to teaching. I wanted to be for others what they had been for me. Once I began high school I had already read over 100 books. Not limiting myself to any specific genre my readings ranged from novels to fiction to psychology books, those were my favorite, my other owned quite a few and I must’ve read them all at least twice. By reading and indulging myself in countless fictional worlds, I gained very imaginative thoughts and a vast vocabulary for someone that you. I was constantly entering national writing contests, as well as write for my own pleasure. I find it quite relaxing to write out my thoughts. This is why I’ve kept a journal for years now. It liberates my mind and allows me to write out my creative ideas.

Who am I? Family life?     

            I was born and raised in a small town in Cuba, the oldest of two. My mother was a single mom who worked hard and always made sure we had what we needed. I did my studies and earned a degree in Cuba. I fell in love, met my husband and created a family. I moved to New Jersey almost 9 years ago. Here I realized I had to study hard and work in order to validate my degree, and I’m quite proud of my accomplishments. I arrived at this country knowing little to nothing about the language and now I am able to write and read, there’s still a lot to improve but little by little I learn something new, not only from my studies, but also from my students.

Hobbies?

            In my spare time, I tutor some of previous students as well as current ones. When I’m not doing that, I’m taking the opportunity to spend time with my family, maybe dinner outings or just fun family activities. I do always find the time to pick up a book and indulge in the creative thoughts of the authors.

What is your role at school?

            As of 2016, I received my first official teaching position. I am working at Jefferson School, in Union City as a bilingual kindergarten teacher. I have around 24 kids as well as a teacher’s assistant. I encourage my students everyday and push them to reach into their unfolding minds and find their creativity. We sing, we laugh, and we learn. I have learned countless of lessons from my students. There is something about the simplicity of a child’s mind, and how they appreciate and find joy in the smallest of things. I absolutely adore the thought of having the opportunity to help shape and model the next generation.

Course Expectations?

            Little by little we lose a little more of human interaction due to society’s infatuation with technology and social media. Communication and literacy go hand in hand, I find it essential. I am looking forward to this class expanding my knowledge and ability to get students to focus and value the true power of literacy, something we come across on an everyday basis without actually realizing.